Visual difference between H&A vs AGS000 and GIA3x

Having had both hearts and arrows and ideal cut but not quite H&A, I will tell you that there is no visual difference. However, since GIA numbers are rounded, you can't be certain how well cut a diamond is. That is why we recommend buying from a vendor who will provide idealscope images. I don't think you have to have perfect hearts to have a gorgeous diamond, but I want one that has ideal light performance. So I'd recommend going with one of the vendors who will provide you with idealscope images such as WF, GOG, JA, etc.

Written by diamondseeker2006 » June 17th, 2012, 11:09 am:Having had both hearts and arrows and ideal cut but not quite H&A, I will tell you that there is no visual difference. However, since GIA numbers are rounded, you can't be certain how well cut a diamond is. That is why we recommend buying from a vendor who will provide idealscope images. I don't think you have to have perfect hearts to have a gorgeous diamond, but I want one that has ideal light performance. So I'd recommend going with one of the vendors who will provide you with idealscope images such as WF, GOG, JA, etc.

This is good advice on the whole. I'd just add that not all GIA 3EX diamonds are equal. It's a wide range and some GIA 3EX diamonds are less bright than others.

A diamond does not have to have H&A to be beautiful, but as a technical point, there are differences between diamonds with the highest possible 3D cut precision and diamonds with equivalent light return but lesser cut precision. That difference could be as negligible as the difference between D and E color, or D and G, or high D and low D - depending on the specific diamonds. Factually, the higher the order of precision the larger the virtual facets, so as you graduate to higher levels of 3D precision the optics do shift, as subtle as that might be from one specimen to the next.

Can you see the difference? ...Can I? ...Can the world's most experienced diamond cutter? The answers could possibly be different and are definitely dependent on the diamonds being compared, the surrounding light/environment and the perceptual skill of the viewer. It's the same when comparing color grades.

One important note is that our basic cut grading rubric of EX-VG-G-F-P is not nearly as finely subdivided or balanced in grading-width as our color or clarity rubrics. Add to that the fact that neither GIA or AGSL yet discloses levels of cut-precision for consumers; although AGSL now has a report which includes both crown and pavilion reflector images.